Method for width grading shoe lasts



Oct. 9, 1951 w. M. BIDDLE METHOD FOR WIDTH GRADING SHOE LASTS Filed Dec. 10, 1948 INVENTOR. Iiz'llz'am M fiz'dale Patented Oct. 9, 19 51 I METHOD FOR WIDTH GRADING SHOE LASTS William M. Biddle, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Vulcan Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 10, 1948, Serial No. 64,658

1 Claim. (Cl. 144309) The present invention relates to a method of width grading shoe lasts.

The. shoe manufacturers, retailers, last makers and pattern makers have, for many years,

used a standard measure for identifying shoes,v

shoe patterns or shoe lasts, the-latter being foundations upon which the shoes are built. The standardized measure comprises a system of numbers and letters which when used in the shoe industry in various combinations indicates the lengths and widths, respectively, of the particular product on which it is used. For example, successive integers from '2 through 11, including intermediate half-sizes, indicate the length size of the products, the difierence between three successive integers having a linear gradient of 1". The letters AAAA, AAA, AA, A, B, C, D, 'E, EE, indicate width sizes of the products which increase 1 5 between each size from size AAAA up to size EE. Thus a 4B shoe last, shoe, or shoe pattern would be a product having a length size of 4 and a width size of B.

The shoe industry has considered size 43 as the basic standard size from which all shoe lasts are graded and on which new fashionable designs are created and patterned, whilst the shoe manumake a complete series of width graded, model shoe lasts for a singlev line of newly designed shoes by separately forming a size 4B last for that style and using said last as the basic standard model from which the other widths for the series of model lasts are separately turned or graded on a lathe. The line of lasts turned or graded up and down from the 4B basic size would then be identified as 4AAAA, dAAA 4AA, 4A, 40, 4D, 4E, 4EE. Specifically the basic standard model is carefully formed and proportioned to a size 43 and then placed in a last turning lathe to be used as the model last for grading a last to be made on the lathe from a suitable wood block. The lathe is then adjusted so as to form from the wood block a model last having the same length and graded to width size A, which, according to the system of measurement, is less in all its outside width measurements around the ball, instep and waist than the B basic model last. The model last 4A thus formed is then placed in the turning lathe as the model and a block of wood is turned to provide a model last having a size 4AA, said latter model being graded so that its outside width dimensions are /g" less sizes.

2 than the size 4B basic model last, and of course, having the same length as the 413 size. This operation is repeated until all the model lasts of a width less than 4B are completed, and then in like manner model lasts 4C, 41'), 4E and 4EE are completed to form a series of width graded model lasts. Thereafter each model last is used for producing lasts having its particular width size but ranging in length from size 2 /2 up to size 11 in the said width size to thereby provide a complete line of lasts on which a particular shoe style may be produced.

It is common knowledge among those skilled in the art that the narrow widths and to some extent the wider widths of shoes never fit the wearers foot as well as the intermediate width Further the extreme shoe widths lose all the graceful lines and contours possessed by the sample or basic standard shoe size 4B. It has been suggested that this fault be remedied by controlling the length grading processes during the last construction process, but even when length grading was more accurately performed the extreme width models were subject to the criticism that they did not fit properly and they did not possess graceful lines. I have found the real causefor this faulty condition in the shoes having extreme width sizes to lie not in the last length grading process but in width grading of the line of model lasts. The extreme widths in the series of model lasts, asfor instance the 4AAA or the aEE, are so far removed from the basic model 4B that during the process of progressive grading down and up, respectively, from the 43 basic model the width dimensions of the formed lasts are equally increased in the graded line until the extreme model lasts have lost all the good fit and graceful lines of the original basic standard 413 from which they were graded. The ball width measurement for the small sizes such as 4AAA is particularly subject to criticism for this width measurement will grade far out of its proper proportion to the fit and shape of the basic model 43.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method of width grading a series of model shoe lasts which comprises separately forming three basic model lasts for the model last series on which a particular line of shoes may be built, and then completing the series of model lasts by width grading up and down from each of the basic models to form intermediate model lasts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of forming model lasts from a plurality of basic standard lasts whereby the full line of shoes made therefrom accurately conforms in appearance and proportionate size to the basic standard size and wherein the extreme sizes of the line provide a better fit for the wearers foot.

Other objects will be aparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view representing all length sizes for models of lasts made in accordance with my method and having width sizes from 4AAAA to 4EE, inclusive.

Fig. 2 represents all sizes for models of lasts formed by the conventional last making methods.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view wherein there is shown the superimposed, transverse outlines of the lasts taken on lines 33 of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a sole pattern of two width graded basic model lasts to be used in carrying out this method. A

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the sole pattern of model lasts, width graded according to conventional methods.

My new method of width grading an entire series of model lasts consists in separately formiIlg three basic model lasts which have width sizes graded two width sizes from the next adjacent basic model size. In following out the steps of my method the present standard length size number 4 is preferably used for width grading a series of model lasts for a full line of shoes of a particular style. As in the conventional method the basic standard size 4B last would be separately formed and comprise the intermediate basic model of the three separately formed basic model lasts. With this basic standard size 43 last as a model last the model lasts 4A and LC of the series will be turned in a lathe and will be graded up and down and one width away from the size 43 last. Because these models 4A and 4C are graded only one width away from the 43 size all the good fitting features and style of the 43 last will be retained in the 4A and 40 model lasts. A basic model last 4AAA will then be separately formed and designed proportionally smaller than the 4B, but formed to possess all the good fitting features and graceful lines of the basic standard model 4B on an exact and proportionally smaller scale. From this basic model size 4AAA, size 4AAAA will be formed by grading the 4AAA last down one width. The 4AAA basic standard model last is also used as the model last for size 4AA which is formed by grading the said basic model last up one width.

In like manner the larger widths of the series of model lasts are produced by separately forming the 4E size model last to retain the good fitting features and graceful lines of the 43 size last in proportionally larger width sizes, and from the separately formed basic model size 4E model lasts with sizes 4D and 4EE are graded one width down and up, respectively, from this basic model. My method for width grading a whole series of model lasts is set out diagrammatically below:

Separately Formed Basic Standard Model Lasts 4AAA 4B 415 Model Lasts Width Graded From Basic Models 4AAAA 4AA 4A 40 4D 4EE It will therefore be understood that in the practice of my method three basic model lasts 4AAA, 4B and 4E are separately formed and that from these three basic models the remaining model lasts are graded to provide a whole series of width graded model lasts. The model lasts are formed by placing each basic model last in a wood turning lathe and setting the lathe to first grade one width size less than said basic model and then onewidth size greater than the basic width model to provide model lasts having respectively the next preceding and next succeeding width size in the width graded series. The next step after the whole series of model lasts have been formed is to, form from each of the model lasts a line of length sizes ranging from length sizes 2 to 11. Forexample, from the model last 4B the following last sizes are formed: 2 /2B, 313, 3 /23, 4B, 4 13, 53, 5 3, 6B, 6 /2B, 713, 7 13, 8B, 8%3, 9B, El B, 1013, 10 13, and 11B. In like manner a full line of length sizes are made from each of the model lasts to complete a full line of lasts on which a particular style of shoe may be made.

To illustrate the advantages of my method there is shown in the drawings in Figs. 13 a conventional last bottom template I based on standard size 43 and in Fig. 1 there is illustrated a last 8 which is representative of all the width graded model lasts for length size 40f a series of model lasts made in accordance with my process. It will be noted that all the width sizes of the model last series have bottoms 9 which exactly conform to the contour of the template I. With reference to Fig. 2 the numeral I0 is illustrative of a model last size 4AAA for a series of model lasts graded by the conventional method from a single basic standard size 4B, the last bottom H indicating the maximum foreshortening of the forepart present in the 4AAA model last made by the conventional grading method. The difference in the bottoms of the 4B size last indicated by the template 1 and size 4AAA is equal to approximately of a length size. Thus the shoe formed on the 4AAA last allows the wearers foot to move forwardly in the shoe and causes pressure at the vamp line commonly caled a biting at the throat of the shoe. 7

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic section showing a comparison between the widths of 4AAA size model last IE! formed by the conventional meth- 0d and the same size last 8 separately formed and by my method used as a basic standard last from which is graded model lasts having sizes l-AAAA and 4AA. It will be noted that a coi1- siderable amount of wood has been added to the ball dimension of the last formed in the conventional manner to obtain the basic standard last formed for my method whereby the latter conforms in exact proportion to the basic model size 4B.

As is illustrated in Fig. 4 an outer line [2 represents the sole pattern for a size 43 basic standard model last made in accordance with my method, and the numeral I3 indicates a sole pattern for a basic standard model last 4AAA separately formed and used in my method. By comparison with Fig. 5 the reference numerals I20 and I30 respectively, indicate the sole patterns for sizes 43 and 4AAA made by the conventional width grading process. It will be noted that in the conventional width grading process wood is equally removed from all the width dimensions of model lasts graded from the 43 size downwardly, and equally added to all model lasts graded upwardly from said 3 size, whilst in my method the separately formed basic model lasts arelmade proportionally wider or narrower at the width measurements necessary to insure better fit of he 1 .65. formed thereon and to secure moregraceful lines which conform proportionally to the lines of the original basic model size 43.

What is claimed is: The method of width grading shoe lasts which consists in the steps of separately forming by hand three basic standard model lasts of one width series of model lasts, each of the basic model lasts being identical in length measurement and having widths graded two sizes removed from the width size of the next adjacent basic standard model last, next turning two model lasts from each of said basic standard model lasts, one of said model lasts being graded to have the next preceding width size in the said width series, and

the other of said model lasts having the succeed- 1 ing width size in the said width series to thereby REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,362,184 Prindle Dec. 14, 1920 1,545,544 Black July 14, 1925 1,576,715 Boynton Mar. 16, 1926 1,684,072 Reed Sept. 11, 1928 

